Day 5 of our glorious five day weekend courtesy of a nearly snow-less winter.  The temptation to start typical summer projects grows but I resist.  Why start the project when the summer vacation has not yet started?  However, I have started some summer mode routines:  coffee and reading after breakfast (in the comfy chair in the dining room), hours spent in the garden, tons of reading, listening to lots of music, burning summer incense, Millie nap time.

The best part of all this so far?  My horrible across the street neighbours are gone.  The house was foreclosed - finally - and I now have some peace and quiet.  This might seem heartless but not without reason.  The mother was a racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic drunk and the kids were following right in line.  We have a pile of papers with her nasty quotes to her kids.  She used to sing "Dreidel Dreidel" when we would plug in the blue lights on our porch.  They dumped a dead baby skunk on our property once.  She drove drunk.  A lot.  No one on the block liked them.  She never made a real effort to work even when the husband was out of work.  Yet the beer kept on flowing.  I feel sadness when my students or other undeserving people lose a home due to deception or cruel circumstances.  This bunch?  I think I danced a little jig when the moving truck was in the driveway.  So now when I work on the plants in the front, I do it without hearing her horrible voice.  I no longer have to pick up garbage they have dropped in the street.  I no longer have to discuss with hubby if the latest incident warrants a call to DYFS - though some state employee friends have heard momma in action and said they would have called.  We can sit in our living room at night reading, listening to music, or watching PBS and not have to shut the window to drown out their voices.  The peace is strange, but so nice.

Speaking of drunks, while I cannot wait to see my kids again tomorrow, there is one thing I am not looking forward to:  The refusal to work because they must talk about all the drunken drama from their beach escapades.  Honestly, I do not see how anyone can spend five days with all the same people in that kind of environment and not want to leave it all behind, very quickly, but that's me.  If you think the kids are going down the shore for wholesome fun in the water, you are deluded.  But we keep our blinders on.  Me?  I never did it, wasn't allowed and it didn't appeal to this straight edge leaning gal.  But that isn't why I don't want to hear it.  I am a teacher, it is not yet summer, and we have work to do.  We have projects to finish and exams to prepare for.  And none of you are 21 and you shouldn't be drinking.  I can't fathom seeing the end of the year come and having a bunch of unfinished photo projects.  I will also be saying goodbye to most of my kids.  I have a lot of seniors and I will most likely never seem them again.  I want to have a wonderful close to the year and I don't want that marred by struggle.  But I know I will have some colleagues who will coast for the next two weeks.  They will play movies, diddle on their phones while the kids chat or sleep.  I have stuff to get done.  I have another show to prep for.  I need to photograph all the work before returning it to the students.  I'm not stressed yet, but I just do not want to have to deal with hearing about drunken debauchery.  I got rid of that BS on my street, and I don't want to hear it at work.  I'd rather chat with the kids about how to solve an issue with a project or talk about some cool pictures they shot over the holiday or some cool exhibits coming up over the summer.